The Dodge Challenger Message Board

Hi there. This is my first post (on any site) so excuse me if I stuff up. I bought a 1970 R/T SE Challenger which needs restoration. There are 3 questions I have (but plenty more to come I'm sure).

The brakes on the fender tag are listed as B51 which I decoded as power assisted brakes. The car has disks and power booster but I thought all '70 R/T's came with drums. Which is correct for the car?

It has a 383 but not the original engine. How do I tell what it is? Are all 383 4 barrels Magnums or not? If not what is a Magnum and how do you tell?

The front seats have square plastic backs with a chrome trim around them. They dont have the slight oval top like my '72 and all other Challengers I've seen. Are they out of something else?

That's more than 3 questions! Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

I think I am correct in saying that if your car came with disc brakes it would have the code for it on the tag. It would be another B-code but I can't think off the top of my head what the code number is like I used to be able to.

But yes disc brakes were optional on any Challenger. The Drums were standard.

The 383 will have i.d. numbers stamped on a pad next to the distributor. That will tell you what it is. Or at least we can if you print the details here EXACTLY as they appear on the engine.

Post some photos of the seats and we might be able to i.d. them.

This will help with your engine ID.

http://www.yearone.com/updatedsinglepag ... info1.html

Thanks Dave. I will take some pics of the seats. So if there is no mention of the brake type, then you would guess that they are drums standard with just the power booster option?

I think that is correct.
Someone with a greater knowlege (and better memory) than I will hopefully come along sometime in the next 24 hours and put us right.

Post some pics of the car in the members cars section. We love to see them.

will do in the next couple of days. No room for my car at home so its at a factory. I just watched your video - need traction. Cool

"Nee traction"

Means "No traction" in my local dialect.

in mine it is what you hit on the way down after too many beers!!!

Here are the pics of the seat. Like I said they are square with chrome trim. One of the back of the car. What are they out of???

Welcome BskyB. The seats are not 70 ebody seats. My R/T S/E does have power assist drum..11" front and back.. The car pic does look good. You have the emblem and the tail panel. What are your plans.?

Thanks for the welcome. The plan is to do a total restoration on the car. Unfortunately I will have to sell my '72 to afford it. If you have a 70 SE I'd love to see some pics along the way for my reference. I have found it had to source may pics on the net of SE interiros etc.

Any tips on where to find some seats?

welcome bskyb,here are some se interior photos of my car.

I have been looking around for an I.D. of those seats of yours with no luck so far.

dave-r wrote:I have been looking around for an I.D. of those seats of yours with no luck so far.

I have not had any luck in my search either. Any ideas at all? I have searched for Mopars from the late sixties to the mid seventies, but no luck...

Thanks for looking. I think I will just put them in my wifes car. Any ideas on where to buy seat? Ebay? Do you know if SE seats were different to standard seats - apart from the trim? Like the 6 way adjuster etc?

Hey BskyB. Check the Members Photos threads for my Thread. On page 6 are pics of the inside. Although I have 73 interior. Anyway the whole thread is on my SE so there may be something helpful.

BskyB wrote:Do you know if SE seats were different to standard seats - apart from the trim? Like the 6 way adjuster etc?

All SE:s came with leather seats (only the front seats though, the rear seat has vinyl upholstery)

christer wrote:

BskyB wrote:Do you know if SE seats were different to standard seats - apart from the trim? Like the 6 way adjuster etc?

All SE:s came with leather seats (only the front seats though, the rear seat has vinyl upholstery)

Yes, they were standard, but you could option down to the cloth or even the vinyl seats is you wanted to.

KISSAlien wrote:

christer wrote:

BskyB wrote:Do you know if SE seats were different to standard seats - apart from the trim? Like the 6 way adjuster etc?

All SE:s came with leather seats (only the front seats though, the rear seat has vinyl upholstery)

Yes, they were standard, but you could option down to the cloth or even the vinyl seats is you wanted to.

Really? That was new to me. Thanks!

KISSAlien wrote:

christer wrote:

BskyB wrote:Do you know if SE seats were different to standard seats - apart from the trim? Like the 6 way adjuster etc?

All SE:s came with leather seats (only the front seats though, the rear seat has vinyl upholstery)

Yes, they were standard, but you could option down to the cloth or even the vinyl seats is you wanted to.

I read that "...a credit option of cloth and vinyl bucket seats is available for those who do not want leather."

What is a credit option? Does that mean that you got a better price, or what?

I can´t remember that I have seen anyting other the leather seats in SE cars, so non-leather seats must be quite rare.

Basically, what a 'credit option' means that the difference you would normally pay for the leather seats and cloth seats would be applied to a different option. In other words, if the nicer seats were fifty bucks, and the cheap seats were twenty bucks, there was thirty that could be applied towards a different accessory/option.

Here is some Rainman Mopar Trivia for you. In the January 1994 issue of High Performance Mopar, they feature a triple green Hemi '70 R/T SE owned (then) by Bill Bartels (title of the article, I think was "Real/Trouble Stomps Everything"). The Challenger had the "Credit Option" cloth/vinyl seats.

I was 11 or 12 when I bought that mag, and I have been in love with Mopars ever since! I haven't seen that magazine since I moved out of my parents place in 2001. Its in a dusty box, along with all my other 1994-2001 HPMs...Sigh...
KFD